Sweet Rivalry
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Serena and Miette restart their romantic rivalry for Ash when Team Rocket runs interference. PoffléShipper
1. PokéPuffed for the Contest

_Disclaimer: No Ownership of Pokémon.  
Summary: Miette and Serena restart their romantic rivalry for Ash when Team Rocket runs interference. PoffléShipper._

_**Sweet Rivalry**_

_Chapter 1: PokéPuffed for the Contest_

Stopping in the new city, Ash and his friends saw a flier which held another PokéPuff Contest. Last time, Serena made the Final Round with Miette who seemed interested with Ash. Both girls lost to a brother/sister team with a Makuhita. This new contest could prove who the better PokéPuff Baker is. "So are you gonna compete in this contest?" Ash asked Serena. This could be redemption for the blond from the region.

"Of course!" she yelped. "But can I borrow Pikachu for this?" The idea left Ash and the others a tad befuddled.

"Why do you need Pikachu?" Clemont wondered. "Is something wrong with Fenniken?" A shake of the head told him it wasn't a condition of her Pokémon that was the problem.

"I just thought of a recipe for Electric-Type Pokémon and this stage could be useful for the PokéPuff of choice." While her reason seemed fascinating, Bonnie opted someone else.

"What about Dedenne?" she spoke up. "He's an Electric-Type, too!" Serena forgot about Dedenne but was quick to assess the mistake.

"Whoops! Sorry, Dedenne." The Antennae Pokémon squeaked in forgiveness. "But Bonnie's taking real good care of you, right?" Dedenne looked up to Bonnie, the mind that perhaps she didn't want to take care of him anymore.

"If you want, I can help you practice," Clemont offered. Ash and Serena turned to the Lumiose City Gym Leader in curiosity.

"I should be fine but..." Not listening, Clemont adjusted his glasses while bringing forward his technological bag.

"The future is now, thanks to Science! Clemontic Gear on!" Out came an ice cream scoop with a huge scoop. It also had a dial, wires and switch. "Presenting... my PokéPuff-Stuff-Berry-Fluff-Instant-Scooper! I can adjust the firmness of the Berry used for the PokéPuffs which will enhance texture and flavor to make the treat more tasty!" Ash would normally be impressed with Clemont's inventions but he's learn enough that most of his technology ends up blowing back in his face. Serena and Bonnie heard the name of the device, disgusted with what it was.

"It's only a description," Bonnie mulled.

"And using that in this contest is illegal," Serena added. Clemont gulped at the word his device would break the rules.

"You... can't... use... this?" he stuttered before slumping in defeat. All this excitement left Ash rather exhausted.

"You guys get yourself ready for the contest if you want," he spoke. "I'm gonna take a walk." He turned to stroll away from the group when Bonnie had one minor detail to add.

"You know the contest isn't until tomorrow," she pointed out. For Ash, there was time to warm up.

"Take some time to practice for it." It was rare for Ash to split from Pikachu but the Electric Mouse felt there was a reason. One would be that Serena had asked for his help. Ash wandered in the city for sometime, unaware of someone watching his every move. One turn on a corner later... and some lips touched Ash's cheek. The kiss caught Ash off-guard and jerked his head to the side a little. Parting lips from his face, the reddened cheeks then eyes shifted to a blue-haired girl.

"Now that is how you kiss someone you like," Miette cheered, her Slurpuff by her side. "And since you're here, so is Serena?" Ash nodded to Serena's rival.

"Don't forget Clemont and Bonnie as well." Learning the gang made it, Miette could easily see everyone if she wanted to.

"I don't mind them as much as yourself. Besides, if Serena hasn't stepped up her game, I may not have a choice but to take care of you myself." The thought spooked Ash about marriage already.

"Slow down! We can't just call a relationship just like that!" Miette laughed at that outburst.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying that Serena and I made a deal that if she can't get your attention, I'd be claiming you as my own. And from you being distant from her, I'm starting to believe you two don't see eye-to-eye, right?" Miette may be hinting Ash to love but he couldn't tell what love was if it hit him in the face like a moment ago... until he remembered the "husband" plot.

"If Serena is telling me, I'm just not hearing her." Miette sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, flustered with his slow response.

"I knew it. How about we grab something to eat while I know about what Kanto's like." Before Ash could reply, Serena found the pair and nearly prevented a date from happening.

"Not so fast, Miette!" she yelled. Ash and Miette turned to his group and even Pikachu.

"I should have known that with a PokéPuff Contest, you'd be around to participate," Clemont concluded.

"Nice to see you again, Miette," Bonnie greeted. Miette acknowledged the company but eyed Serena for her failure.

"What did I tell you about keeping your feelings from Mister Ketchum?" she warned. "For someone who wants him to remember the days before, you're not doing a good job of it." Serena's face puffed up in anger at the mock. She darted her head away in disgust.

"That's rather harsh of you, Miette," Clemont argued.

"Just an honest opinion. No sense going out of your way just to get the attention of someone you like." Those words startled Ash. He said the same thing when Brock, a traveling partner and former Pewter City Gym Leader and Pokémon Breeder, tried to hit on a Mawile trainer.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," he gulped. This further infuriated Serena as she darted her head back.

"You better bring your best tomorrow," she snapped as she fingered Miette. The blue-haired stood composed, not threatened by her intimidating shout. Finally, she stormed off, Bonnie coming from behind.

"Serena, wait!" she cried out. Pikachu reunited with Ash but got worried about Serena.

"We'll let her blow off whatever is steaming her," Miette advised. "In the meantime, I know a restaurant that serves breakfast all day. I'm just in the mood for an Oran Berry Omelet." Pikachu got excited for Miette's choice. Acknowledging his Pokémon, Ash obliged.

"Sounds like a good idea," he accepted. As the four journeyed to find the restaurant, Team Rocket schemed about a new plan. Watching the exchange from around a building, they knew a situation to work on.

"Looks like the oven's burning between the twerpettes," Jessie sneered. "But I can finally reclaim my place as the PokéPuff Princess." Sounded like she wanted in on the competition tomorrow.

"Jessie, last time, our PokéPuffs became charcoal!" Meowth reminded.

"And our machine went mash!" James added. Team Rocket recalled Ash sacrificing his body to overheat the vacuum and have his Pikachu, Serena's Fenniken, Miette's Slurpuff and a swarm of Swirlex shread the machine to bits.

"Then we play things differently," Jessie plotted. "If I'm gonna beat those twerps in the contest tomorrow, what we need to do is thin the herd." James and Meowth blinked at the suggestion. She wanted to take out the other competitors before the contest.

"Now hold on a second!" Meowth roared. "We're Team Rocket! We don't try to murder dose twerps!" Suddenly, James realized the plan.

"Not the twerps but their ovens to make them unusable," he pictured. "No ovens, no contest!" A great idea; sabotaging the ovens would help Jessie get the crown... if Jessie wanted it that way.

"Nah, those twerpettes are the biggest threat," she pointed out. "We'll kidnap the twerp and his Pikachu and you know those twerpettes will come for him." James and Meowth gawked again at Jessie's plan.

"Jessie, Team Rocket takes Pokémon, not twerps!" Meowth reminded again. "Why go through all da trouble for a contest?!" The reason would be one of long and hard frustration.

"That twerp and his Pikachu have humiliated me for far too long! I want to make him suffer for all the embarrassment he put me through!" This was a personal vendetta that screamed payback in the most severe form. Even Wobbufett got spooked with her ranting. To the boys, it sounded over-exaggerated.

"It doesn't necessarily help that she was once a twerp, herself," James pointed out.

"Dat must have been one bad childhood," mulled Meowth. While that planning started hitting the blueprint, Bonnie and Dedenne caught up with Serena on a park bench. She gritted her teeth, finding Miette with Ash settled less and less with each second passing.

"Are you okay?" the little girl asked in concern. Dedenne squeaked its worry to the gloom of the partner who came to see Ash after his little stunt at the Prism Tower.

"No!" whelped the new trainer. "Why should Ash be with... with that upstart?!" The bitterness from Serena started souring the usually happy-go-lucky little blond. Dedenne hopped off Bonnie and scurried to Serena's lap, trying to cheer her up. The daughter of a famed Rhyhorn racer petted the Antennae Pokémon, still pondering what she could do to get Ash back.

"Could you tell me why you want Ash for yourself?" The curiosity of little kids...

"Well... I guess. I mean... did you hear me ask him if he remembered me?" Bonnie may be little but that moment wasn't too long ago.

"Yeah! You also said something about a camp near a Pallet Town, right?" She must have big ears to catch that detail.

"I sure did. You see, one day at the camp, I was chasing an Oddish into the woods. Without looking, I tripped on a tree root and hurt my knee. The pain was so bad, I cried out when Ash came to my rescue. First, he wrapped up my knee and then tried a 'magic trick' to get rid of the pain. I giggled in amusement from that before we held hands to lift me up. It soon was the first time that a boy actually... embraced me in his arms." Bonnie and Dedenne awed the story from the Vaniville Town girl. She could only picture herself being hugged by someone like what Serena had gone through.

"That would be so cool!" A smile from Serena produced a giggle from her, too.

"It does, doesn't it?" A few seconds of happy Serena reverted back to upset. Bonnie started worrying about the swing of emotions Serena kept shifting throughout. At a diner, Pikachu and Slurpuff enjoyed some PokéPuffs made by Miette while sitting with Ash and Clemont.

"The new PokéPuff I made strengthens a Pokémon's defense against Ground-Type moves," she explained. "I also gave it a touch of Watmel Berry extract for sweetener. Perfect for woodland Pokémon like Pikachu." The Pokémon in question flashed a smirk and a Peace Sign, liking the taste.

"So you use different berries to see what Pokémon favors tastes to the effects of what PokéPuff does to certain Pokémon," Clemont hypothesized.

"Sounds easy but not all of the same Pokémon will have the same taste buds. It's like humans; we differ in so many ways like girls who favor tough boys to those who show the sincere type." Ash could think of another comparison.

"It's also like people who prefer Pokémon to battling or to have around as pets," he tried to pair up. Miette scoffed at Ash's attempt of understanding people and Pokémon.

"You're funny!" Hoping for a head's up about tomorrow's contest, Clemont wanted to ask Miette for a recipe she's be using.

"Anyway, is there a special PokéPuff you'll show off in the preliminary round?" he asked. Miette's reaction was to waive a finger at the tinkering Gym Leader of Lumiose City.

"A good Pokémon chef never reveals her secrets. Besides, you're friends with my romantic rival. It's a risk I can't take." She's not taking a chance.

"It's okay," understood Ash. "Anything that fills the stomach should be a compliment to the chef." A chuckle told Ash how Miette felt from his words.

("True enough,") Pikachu agreed. After they had their fill, Ash paid the bill and all left the restaurant.

"Well, I'll see you at the Contest tomorrow," Miette promised as she left to do a little shopping.

"Yeah, see ya!" said the Pallet Town trainer. The boys started their way back to the Pokémon Center and back to Serena and Bonnie. Thinking back to their conversation, Clemont's mind filled with questions toward the company he's a part of.

"Ash, have you thought about what Serena's feelings may be when she hears about our meal discussions with Miette?" he brought up. Clueless to a fault, Ash glanced blankly at his machine-making partner.

"Well, why are you worried about it?" Clemont stopped his walk, Pikachu noticing and patting Ash to turn around.

"Did you or did you not invite Serena to go around Kalos with us?" Ash's honesty had a backseat with the inquiry of his team's morale.

"I did..." That's when something clicked for Ash. "Hold on... you're worried that I'm choosing her over the friends I'm with, including you." Telling Ash that he's correct, Clemont adjusted his glasses.

"You see where I'm coming from? Serena came to find you for a reason..." Ash coughed a huge sigh at the thought of Miette ruining the friendship between him and his gang.

"And why is it every region I go, there's another person who jeopardizes the bond I have with people I'm traveling with?" To Clemont, this wasn't Ash's first rodeo. He's been through this plenty of times.

"Really? This I didn't know about." Even Ash felt ashamed of the shenanigans that plagued his adventures.

"And perhaps that I don't wanna share too much with. I swear I try my best to help people and move on..." Clemont and Pikachu heard the tone of frustration with Ash and his past. Notable names that threatened to break his team included Melody who was the first girl to kiss Ash. Then Macey who fell for him after he saved Pikachu and her Vulpix. Plenty of girls shook Ash up with his charisma and faith from his close friends. "Pikachu, could you stay with Clemont for a while? I need to clear my head." Respecting his wish, Pikachu hopped over to Clemont's shoulder.

"Just be careful, okay?" A nod from the Pallet Town boy allowed the Gym Leader and the prized Pokémon to enter the Center. Ash walked to an ice cream shoppe, grabbed a cone and sat at a bench, a scoop of chocolate swirl being his flavor. Unbeknown to him, his talk with friends were heard by one person he'd think the least to care about him.

"This is exactly what I warned you about, twerp!" scorned Jessie. Ash turned his head to the redhead adult leaning on the bench and staring at Ash.

"You came without James or Meowth?" he noticed.

"I saw you with Twerpy Inventor and that blue-haired twerpette instead of your regular crew. I couldn't help but take inklings." This was a rare moment for Ash, talking to Jessie instead of him stopping her and Team Rocket from their latest scheme to Pokénap his Pikachu. "It's not normally my position or attitude to care about what you do on your twerpish time, but I thought I would remind you about what I said back on Fire Island before Zapdos came by." This intrigued Ash about her memory. "When you get involved with the opposite sex, you're only asking for trouble." The words started sinking in and Ash blindly realized the trouble he kept finding himself in. However, he felt that it's been unavoidable.

"Even when you tell me that, it doesn't actually help that the opposite still finds me and gets me in trouble, especially those that I never wanted any part of." Out of comfort, Jessie patted Ash on the head. Hearing how he tried but couldn't shake the trouble with women somehow earned Jessie's understanding.

"Then perhaps what you should do is go with the flow until you know what you need to do." On that note, Jessie walked away to reunite with the "men" she's with. Ash finished his cone before returning to the Center, his mind trying to make sense of what to do next.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Contesting Sabotage

_Chapter 2: Contesting Sabotage_

* * *

The morning of the PokéPuff Bake-Off Contest looked promising. Clear sunny skies, light winds at most and temperatures in the mid-50's; a perfect day for a cookout. The Pokémon Center started the day with breakfast being cooked by Clemont using his invention for anything but PokéPuffs. He fed his Chespin and Bunnelby while everyone else started to wake to the rising sun. On Serena's mind: the Contest. On Bonnie's mind: finding a suitable wife for Clemont. Ash's mind: complication. After being denied access to challenge the Lumiose City Gym Leader... which turned out to be an invention from said leader... he met Clemont and Bonnie who were inspired by Ash's bravery when rescuing Professor Sycamore's Garchomp. After they joined Ash's entourage, Serena found Ash at the Santalune City Gym but just as Ash lost to the Leader, Viola. She came to Ash after seeing him on TV saving the Professor's Pokémon and remembering the summer camp near Ash's home of Pallet Town when he helped her after she got hurt. Now another girl has begun invading his life: Miette. The rival Pokémon Chef scored a kiss to Ash and last night, Jessie warned him about getting involved with a girl. She may be Ash's stubborn enemy chasing Pikachu but he felt that she knew something about "the opposite sex." Bonnie knocked on the door to the room. "Ash, are you in there?" she called.

("Say something!") Dedenne squeaked. No response. Opening the door, she saw Ash looking up at the ceiling with a knee bent. Pikachu wasn't in the room, sneaking out to eat Clemont's breakfast. Bonnie walked over to Ash's side and noticed a hand over his cheek, the same cheek that Miette kissed him. To Bonnie, Serena saw Ash and slapped him in that cheek for seeing her.

"What happened to your cheek?" Hearing the little girl, Ash spun his eyes to Bonnie who looked worried.

"I was kissed," he admitted. "Miette found and kissed me without asking." Learning the truth, Bonnie awed her mouth open in excitement.

"Wow! What was it like? Did you savor it?" Ash glared blankly at the aspiring sister. He soon got back to the topic.

"That wasn't all. I had Jessie warn me about getting involved with girls." Mentioning a member of Team Rocket fumed Bonnie. All they've done was cause trouble just to take Pikachu or any Pokémon that they find.

"Why do you need to listen to that old hag? You'll one day marry Serena!" She puffed her cheeks in protest to Ash taking advice from someone older than him. Ash sighed at Bonnie's argument, a ridiculous point brought up.

"Now you're saying who should take care of me?"

"Yes! I feel that all boys need a girl who can take care of them and marry and have kids of their own!" Someone's getting ahead of themselves.

Ash sighed in fluster, words coming out, "Where's the Aipom Arm to get you away?" Even he's getting annoyed by her proclamation.

"I'm being serious! I bet you get a lot of girls. I'm sure one like Serena's perfect for you!" Her determination overwhelmed his by a mile. It's early in the morning and he hasn't had breakfast yet.

"_Is_ Serena? Some of my friends thought I was a good match with Misty or May or even Dawn. Guess how that turned out." The track record left Bonnie wondering if Serena will be much of the same.

"So you _do_ get girls but they don't tell you their feelings for you?"

"Nope. Not once."

"And you don't say anything to them?"

"All I say is that it was fun to travel with them, despite all the hardships they give me." To Bonnie, Ash had no reason to be in love. He's journeyed on many regions but has never had love surface to him. Perhaps a lost cause, but Bonnie wasn't throwing the towel that soon. She jumped on top of Ash, pinning the slightly larger body.

"Ash, YOU need to learn love like Clemont, even if I gotta force it on you!" She leaned in to kiss Ash who started freaking out.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?! Get off!"

"Not until I get done teaching you how to love!" Before she could get a kiss in, Bonnie was pulled off Ash toward the ceiling by a mechanical arm. Bonnie flailed helplessly in the air as Ash turned to the doorway.

"So it's not enough for you to want a guy to find a girl who 'could take care of us,' huh?!" Clemont argued, his Aipom Arm to the rescue. "If I told you once, I told you a million times!" The Aipom Arm dragged Bonnie from Ash, the near kiss leaving him rather shaken.

"What was... that all about?" he wondered. Getting out of bed, Ash got to the kitchen and had breakfast with the rest. After they ate, the group headed to the outdoor stage, the PokéPuff contest about to take place. From the onset, 15 participants got on stage, two of them being Miette and Serena. 15 separate prepping tables with ovens spread evenly across the stage. Like before, Miette had her Slurpuff. Serena's choice was still Ash's Pikachu. Only having Fenniken wasn't sitting right with her and she did need a bit of variety.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the PokéPuff Contest!" the male host announced. "Looks like we've got quite the lineup of Pokémon Chefs on display!" That display included Serena and Miette standing side-by-side and glaring meanly at each other with Jessie just looking on in mild amusement. Sparks emanated between the two lovelorn chefs. One sight even caught the ire of the host. "It seems there's something else baking besides the PokéPuffs!" The sight left Jessie disagreeing with the host.

"It's more _boiling_ than _baking_," she corrected. "It's called jealousy and desire." Big points... until she flashed a grin. A plot was in the works.

"So, today's recipe has your boy's Pikachu, right?" Miette teased. "Guess you really want to show him the love you've been holding?" Puffed, Serena's scorn looked scary but Miette didn't flinch. Pikachu, on the other shoulder...

("Keep it together, Serena...") he advised.

"How about we leave the talk to our PokéPuffs, Steallette!" came back Serena. The new name didn't sit well with the blue-haired, showing off an evil stare. Someone struck a nerve. Everyone witnessed the exchange, including Ash, Bonnie and Clemont.

"Serena looks like Ash when he lost to Viola's Vivilion," the sister sighed. Ash gave a hard glare at the little blond.

"Ah, I see the comparison," Clemont studied. Now Ash sighed in frustration before slumping back on the hard step and gazing to the sky. Bonnie thought she had gone too far in noting looks.

"I'm sorry, Ash! I didn't mean to-"

"It's not you," Ash interrupted. Bonnie and Clemont wondered what he spoke up on. "Would you believe I didn't get a minute of sleep? Not that it hasn't happened before..." The siblings looked toward each other then back at Ash.

"This isn't about our conversation last night, is it?" he guessed. Ash could recall the talk but Bonnie felt there was more.

"I think it was with that Rocket lady," she thought. Both siblings paid attention to Ash more than Ash himself.

"She said when I get involved with girls, I'm only asking for trouble," he reiterated Jessie's words. "Yet it's girls who get involved with me that I get into trouble. How can I get out of it?" Once again, Bonnie puffed her cheeks. She felt offended to be considered trouble for Ash.

"I see," Clemont pondered. Bonnie released her breath and looked up to her brother. "No matter what happens around females, issues come up around them where they turn to you for help." The way Clemont described the situation, the ordeals felt like a curse to Ash and he couldn't shake it off, no matter what he did to resolve any problem that came. Ash slouched back over and rested his upper body held up by his arms on his knees. Worried about Pikachu's master, Dedenne escaped from Bonnie's sack and squeaked to Ash for attention. Ash took notice and petted the Antennae Pokémon on the antenna-like whiskers for comfort. The competition started with the chefs turning on their ovens to preheat.

"Okay, frosting... check," Serena counted. "Dough... check. Berries... that, too!" Pikachu helped roll the dough for the PokéPuffs to round balls. Colors of the bases differed from each chef in the contest. Serena's bases were yellow to match Pikachu. Taking her time in rolling her bases, Jessie and Pumpkaboo checked the competition but mainly on Serena and Pikachu.

'Perhaps taking Pikachu may not be the only result,' she thought. 'It may help the twerp choose a proper twerpette to watch over him.' Each chef rolled a half-dozen PokéPuff bases for their designs. The preparations complete, the chefs were ready to throw the bases in the oven to bake. That's when Miette had her hand over the handle ready to throw magenta bases when she felt something not right: there's no heat radiating from the door.

"That's weird," she noticed. "Why is the oven cold?" She's not the only one noticing a problem with the ovens. Did they work too fast to keep the ovens from warming up? The only one not complaining about the issues was Jessie.

"Looks like we're having some technical difficulties with these ovens," the host struggled to make sense of the issue as technicians standing by jumped onstage to repair what may have been either loose wiring or faulty coils. "I'm sure our staff will get the ovens in tip-top shape soon." As the audience watched on, Ash noticed an odd sight: while the technicians huddled to open try getting the ovens in working fashion, he saw two of the technicians standing next to Jessie, one of those a lot shorter than everyone else, and not working on repairing her oven. It's Team Rocket and this was a trap! He ran to the stage in hopes of clearing the contest before it's too late.

"Serena, Pikachu, get out of there!" he yelled. "It's a trap!" Hearing Ash prompted the two to take a couple of steps back as their technician opened the oven. Mechanical claws jumped out, knocking the technician unconscious with an uppercut. More mechanical claws popped up and striking the other technicians just to snag the chefs' Pokémon. Miette recalled Slurpuff before the claws could reach the Meringue Pokémon and run off the stage. Serena and Pikachu were stunned to move. Ash jumped onstage just as the claws extended to reach Pikachu. Out of time to think, he applied the shoulder to Serena, knocking her and his Pokémon away and the claws grabbing him by the neck, arm and leg. The claws retracted and pulled Ash and the Pokémon in the booby-trap ovens. The chefs, technicians, organizers and audience were shocked with the sudden turn of events. Some chefs tried to pry the doors open and free their Pokémon but smoke billowed from beneath the ovens, forcing all to retreat.

"What's the meaning of this?!" This was the cue for Team Rocket to make their appearance, thus the removal of their disguises.

"Prepare for trouble, we've baked the recipe for success!" Jessie started.

"And make it double, we finish our cooking during your progress!" James continued.

"To protect the world from devastation and horrible foods..."

"To unite all people within our nation and moods..."

"To denounce all evils of truth, love and expertise..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above shining down on the seas!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished. Miette gathered Serena and Pikachu off the stage and back with Clemont and Bonnie to make sure they're safe.

"Not those bullies again!" Bonnie protested. With the stage cleared, Meowth activated the stoves which combined to make a giant transparent box. The Pokémon were held inside and huddled around Ash who laid unconscious. Those below saw the downed Ash, worried that something happened to him while getting Serena and Pikachu from danger.

"Ash is hurt!" Serena cried. Hearing Serena, Team Rocket looked down and saw the Pokémon trying to comfort Ash who wasn't moving at all.

"Looks like we got a bonus with da Pokémon," Meowth gawked. James also spotted Ash, realizing they just kidnapped a human, mainly their "twerpy" enemy.

"We didn't get the twerp's Pikachu!" he groaned. "We got Pikachu's twerp!" Of course not listening, Jessie started the engines to escape the scene.

"We got the Pokémon that will satisfy the boss," she sneered. "Let's go before the twerps can react." They blasted off to safety. Ash's friends could only watch.

"What can we do?" Serena whined, helplessly unable to think of a way to rescue the one who saved her back then. That's when Bonnie remembered something and pulled out... Pokéballs?

"I forgot to give back Ash's Pokémon!" she realized. A comical blessing from a mistake? Miette wanted to take advantage of the mistake.

"Can Ash's Pokémon fly?" she questioned.

"Two can," Clemont informed. "Fletchinder and Hawlucha." The idea to have one or two of Ash's Flying-Type Pokémon tail Team Rocket gave Serena and Miette hope.

"Fletchinder can get to Team Rocket faster and Froakie can stay hidden from them while trying to escape," Serena plotted. Bonnie agreed to go with the plan and got the Pokéballs to help out.

"Come on out, Fletchinder and Froakie!" she summoned as she opened the Pokéballs. The Ember Pokémon and the Bubble Frog Pokémon emerged but were confused about no Ash. Serena opted to get the two up to speed.

"Ash is in trouble and we need you to find Team Rocket's hideout for us!" she explained. Both Pokémon nodded, allowing Froakie to board Fletchinder and fly off. They hope the two Pokémon can find Ash for the rescue. Pikachu wished with all the worry about his master and best friend. They all did.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Rocketing Headache

_Chapter 3: Rocketing Headache_

* * *

Serena, Bonnie, Clemont, Miette and the Pokémon waited for Fletchinder and Froakie to come back after chasing Team Rocket after making off with other trainers' Pokémon and Ash. By dumb luck, Bonnie held onto Ash's Pokémon and Serena had Pikachu help her with making PokéPuffs for the contest and against Miette. After sometime in the air, Team Rocket's balloon landed near an abandoned warehouse where they lowered the energy cage on the ground. The Pokémon that were captured still tried to get Ash awake. Using a remote, Meowth opened the cage where a Meowstic stood in front of the Pokémon protecting the unconscious trainer. "Move it, pests!" Jessie scolded.

"Yeah, you're all part of Team Rocket!" Meowth insulted. When James saw Ash still out, he feared the raven-haired was hurt. "James, what in da world are you doing?!" To Meowth, James was helping the enemy. Not listening to his cohorts, he slipped past the captured to check on their nemesis.

"Don't worry about that twerp! It's not worth it!" That would be until he felt a bump on the back of Ash's head with some blood dripping on his gloved hand. Ash was hurt, badly.

"He's injured!" he alerted. Meowth gulped at the news. Jessie wasn't deterred.

"Big deal. He put himself in that position to begin with!" She would let Ash die because he got in the way of their criminal mischief? Meowth wondered how until he had a bad feeling to Ash's actions.

"Da twerp clocked his head on da stove when he shove that twerpette and his Pikachu from our claws!" he believed. "He's probably got a concussion." A big concussion since he's not awake yet. All Jessie wanted was the Pokémon to deliver to Giovanni.

"Fine," she shrugged. "Band-Aid him up. We'll escort the Pokémon to their traveling cages." Not caring at all... Jessie summoned her Pumpkaboo and Wobbufett and herded the Pokémon to awaiting cargo holds while James wrapped Ash's head with bandages and gauze. Fletchinder and Froakie saw Ash getting treated and feared how bad his pain was.

("Get the rest here, Fletch-San,") Froakie ordered. ("I'll look for a way to rescue Sensei Ash.") Fletchinder flew off to find Ash's friends. In normal Ash Ketchum fashion, Froakie looked around the worn-out warehouse for anything to startle Team Rocket. The Pokémon wailing only got Ash to open his eyes briefly. His vision was heavily blurred. Taking pity, James put an ice pack on the injury.

"Rest," he advised. "You're in no condition!" Jessie came back, done with packing the Pokémon.

"Stop coddling the twerp and let's go!" she scowled. James bit his lip. He knew Ash was in bad shape. He couldn't just get up and go. It got even worse. Ash collapsed from the stress of his ailment. James laid him down with the ice pack used as a makeshift pillow before helping Jessie with the Pokémon. Fletchinder flew back and found Ash's friends, cawing back to them.

"Fletchinder, you found Ash?" Serena asked. Fletchinder darted its beak back at the way it came and where it dropped off Froakie.

"It must have," Clemont figured. "Froakie's not with it!" Bonnie still had a hard time believing how evil Team Rocket became by not only kidnapping the Pokémon from most chefs there, but also taking Ash.

"Those bullies need to pay for taking Ash like that!" she yelled. That's when she saw Miette looking concerned. "Are you okay, Miette?" She remembered something when Ash was taken.

"When Team Rocket took off with the Pokémon and Ash," she began. "Ash looked like he was knocked out, perhaps when those claws pulled him in that oven." This suddenly got on Serena's nerves that the boy she just reunited with was hurt.

"Are you saying Ash got injured protecting me?" she guessed. It now got Pikachu worried about his trainer and best friend.

"It would make sense about now," Clemont theorized as his hand cupped his chin. "Normally, he'd get rid of Team Rocket and help return the Pokémon they caught." Being hurt would delay any hasty retreat.

"It's possible but we won't know until we find him," Miette pondered. "You two and Ash's Fletchinder should find Team Rocket and stop them. Serena and I will find Ash and help him if he needs it." With Pikachu on Serena's shoulder, the girls headed out to the warehouse. Fletchinder flew by Clemont and Bonnie when it spotted Team Rocket's Meowth hot-air balloon. Their energy cage had been recharged for the long haul with the Pokémon in tow, taking the captured farther than they could. As the siblings raced after the Rockets, Serena and Miette spotted Froakie in the warehouse by Ash laid unconscious with the ice pack under his head. Miette feared this was the case and now she hoped what happened to him wasn't serious.

("There you are!") Pikachu gasped as all three reached the down trainer.

"Ash?" Serena called. "Can you hear us?" Ash started opening his eyes from Serena's voice but from his view, her voice got muffled and deafened. Miette and Serena's lips were moving but hardly a sound got in his ears and quickly closed his eyes. Miette realized Ash was in dire straits.

"He's fading in and out of consciousness!" she panicked. Serena got on her device and hit an app.

"I got emergency on the way! The signal from my Pokénav should get them here soon!" Miette petted Ash's hair when she felt the lump.

"I knew it! He's got a bad one!" Froakie removed some of his Frubbles, compacted them together and replaced the bloody ice pack, trying to keep Ash comfortable.

"Thanks, Froakie."

"How could Team Rocket be so heartless on someone in need of medical aid?"

"Easy. Team Rocket only cares about taking other trainers' Pokémon." As they waited for medical help to come, Clemont, Bonnie and Fletchinder found Team Rocket's balloon and the Pokémon in their cage. Clemont had an idea.

"They're above the trees!" he studied. "We can take out their cage! Fletchinder, come back for a second!" Fletchinder returned to Clemont who brought out another Pokéball. "Chespin, I need your help!" The ball opened and out came the Spiny Nut Pokémon.

"Dedenne, you help out, too!" Bonnie offered. Getting on, Chespin and Dedenne saddled on Fletchinder who flew back to the balloon. Team Rocket saw the oncoming trio of Pokémon.

"Of course, we deal with one twerp, his twerpy friends step up!" scowled Meowth.

"We'll deal with them, Meowth," Jessie sneered. "Pumpkaboo, I need you!" She released the Pumpkin Pokémon with that trademark ghoulish look.

"Inkay, go!" James summoned while throwing his ball and releasing his Revolving Pokémon.

"Pumpkaboo, use Shadow Ball!" Jessie's Pumpkaboo formed a black sphere but Bonnie had a counter for the attack.

"Quick, Fletchinder!" she called. "Double Team!" Fletchinder flashed a second before multiple copies of the airborne Pokémon emerged. The sudden appearance of many Pokémon threw Pumpkaboo off-kilter and its Shadow Ball flew way off target, even if it was at one of the trio copies. Clemont chose to back his sister up.

"Chespin, Pin Missile!" he ordered. Chespin and his copies bombarded Inkay and Pumpkaboo with volleys of pins striking. Some of those pins struck the burner, causing Team Rocket to panic. The flame used to heat the balloon shut down. "Great! Fletchinder, use Flame Charge!" Ablaze, all the Fletchinder copies raced at the stunned Pokémon and the balloon. One Fletchinder grazed the mechanism which Dedenne hopped off, in position for Bonnie to make the next call.

"Dedenne, use Thunder Shock to free the Pokémon!" Dedenne released electricity which overloaded the system. Thanks to being over trees, the Pokémon fell safely from the cage to the branches below.

"Dose twerps are relentless!" shook Meowth. Clemont offered to end it all.

"Let's use a combination attack!" he instructed. "Fletchinder, use Flame Charge one more time! And Chespin, Vine Whip!" On fire, Fletchinder scorched and flipped where Chespin flung out the vines and retrieve Dedenne as Fletchinder hit. An explosion ruptured the balloon and like always...

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they screeched as they flew off in the sky. Fletchinder caught Chespin and Dedenne before returning to the siblings.

"Dedenne, that was awesome!" Bonnie cheered. Dedenne squeaked it off. "You too, Fletchinder!" Ash's flying Pokémon cawed like it wasn't anything it couldn't do. Suddenly, sirens wailed and closed in. "What's that?" The sirens clued in on the trouble.

"An ambulance?" he guessed. Sure enough, a jeep with a cross emblem cut through the trees just as the Pokémon leaped down. This confused Bonnie.

"None of the Pokémon are hurt." That's when they realized it wasn't a Pokémon.

"Ash!" they gasped in unison before everyone and everything started running toward the jeep. The vehicle arrived at the warehouse which a few adults in light blue suits exited and ran in to find their victim.

"Hello?!" one guy called. "We received an emergency signal from here!" Serena and Miette were happy that helped arrive and not a second later.

"Over here!" Miette called and waved her hand. The uniformed team reached the girls still trying their best to nurse Ash. The bandages told the uniformed men who needed the aid.

"Did you find him like this?" A nod from Serena nearly turned the men's faces pale. "Mike, get the stretcher and collar from the back." Mike nodded to his colleague before returning to the jeep. "I'll need your help making sure his neck's stabilized." Serena got behind Ash's head and firmly held it with two hands by each ear. Mike returned with the items necessary. The co-worker placed the neck collar around Ash's chin and neck. Miette recovered Ash's cap. Mike and the co-worker placed a backboard by Ash before they and Serena lifted him on his side. Miette shoved the backboard under Ash before they put him down on it. Pikachu and Froakie looked on helplessly as their trainer got lifted by the humans and carried out of the warehouse, loaded on the jeep.

"Will Ash be okay?" Serena asked, greatly concerned. The uniformed man had the serious look, thinking that whoever ran from Ash left him to die.

"We won't know until he's administered to the hospital." So there's nothing else than waiting to know the extent of his pain. With that, the jeep sped off where a helicopter started to land, near the stage of the PokéPuff Contest. Serena clutched her chest, praying for Ash's health. Even Miette figured that the rivalry between the two had gone too far.

"If I didn't challenge you to this contest, Ash's wouldn't be hurt," she confessed. Hearing her admit to the childish antic made Serena agree. If she used her Fenniken instead of his Pikachu, Ash would've been okay.

"I didn't have another Pokémon and stupidly asked for Ash's Pikachu," she came clean. "Now I know I should have more Pokémon on hand other than my Fenniken." Out of forgiveness, Miette palmed Serena's shoulder as Froakie and Pikachu met up with the girls. Before long, Bonnie also arrived to see the girls and Ash's Pokémon.

"Serena!" she called while low on breath. "Miette!" The girls saw the little sister, anticipating the question she had.

"Where's Clemont?"

"He's returning the Pokémon to their trainers. What about Ash?" Neither girl wanted to scare the youngest of the company... but she had been as worried about their friend from the Kanto Region.

"He's being transported to the hospital," Miette explained. Bonnie went pale from fear. She couldn't imagine Ash getting badly hurt.

"Is he... Will he be okay?" Neither trainer or Pokémon had an answer for it.

"It's too soon to tell," Serena shrugged. "But he didn't look good." This further traumatized the sister of the Lumiose City Gym Leader. "But we need to regroup with Clemont and get to the hospital. I know Ash will be happy to see us there with him." Bonnie nodded, having no choice in the matter. They raced back to the contest stage just as Clemont returned the last Pokémon captured to its trainer. Seeing the helicopter before, he knew something went wrong.

"Clemont!" The little sister's call had him turn to the girls.

"I saw the Medivac helicopter," he reported. "I guess Ash is in worse shape than I thought." Nothing got passed his sight.

"Team Rocket definitely went too far this time!" growled Serena. "They would leave Ash helpless on the floor while they gather our Pokémon? They're bigger cowards than I am!" While she had every reason to sound angry, admitting being a coward to a rival wasn't such a good thing to say.

"Well, thank you for saying that you're a coward," a smug Miette mocked, forcing Serena to cover her mouth, already too late to take back. After that exchange, they decided to head to the hospital. How bad was Ash hurt?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Concussive Dilemma

_Chapter 4: Concussive Dilemma_

* * *

Ash's eyes opened to a burst of white light. He wanted to close them up but the sight started clearing up little by little. The eyes viewed a ceiling of some sort. His eyes still looked unsettled, still glossy from when Serena and Miette found him. He tilted his head gingerly. Even while his sight remained blurry, he could see Serena and Pikachu by his bed asleep. He's probably wondering where Bonnie and Clemont are. Cautiously, he turned his head to see neither of the two but someone else entirely. Miette slept on the recliner by the corner. He also found the monitor that read his vitals. However, he realized something else: he couldn't hear the beeps and boops from it. Maybe it was turned off to help the others sleep. He turned back to Pikachu whose ears twitched. He woke up and squeaked at Ash... but he didn't hear his Pokémon. Seeing no reaction, Pikachu got concerned. Serena got awakened by Pikachu's wailing and looked to see Ash alert, sort of. While her lips moved, no noise came out. Poor Ash couldn't hear what she said. He saw her lips move but no audio backed her up. Serena and Pikachu glanced at each other wondering what was wrong. Miette heard Serena's voice and woke up, asking her if there was a problem. Serena pointed to her ear and said something. It didn't take Miette long to come up with an answer. She snagged a whiteboard and marker before giving them to Serena. She wrote on the whiteboard, then gave it to Ash who read it.

"SO YOU CAN'T HEAR ANY OF US?"

Reading what was on the whiteboard, Ash shook his head. Pikachu sighed in hopeless frustration. Serena took back the whiteboard and cleaned it before Ash said something. It's too bad he couldn't hear his own mouth. Serena wrote something else before handing it to Ash.

"YOU'RE IN THE HOSPITAL. WE SAW YOU BADLY HURT."

Ash cringed at what Serena had written. He asked something which Miette got a clipboard from the foot of the bed. Ash looked at the clipboard and was shocked to learn what he suffered.

GRADE 3 CONCUSSION  
FRACTURED SKULL  
BRAIN HEMORRAGING  
INTERNAL BLEEDING AROUND BASE OF SKULL  
MILD EARDRUM RUPTURE  
MILD EYE SOCKET DISLOCATION  
EMERGENCY SURGERY: SUCCESSFUL

Ash got a bad beating. He slowly rested his head back on the pillow trying to make sense of what happened to him. He muttered something which Miette borrowed the whiteboard and wrote something else. She handed the board to Ash to look at.

"TEAM ROCKET HURT YOU WHEN PROTECTING SERENA AND PIKACHU."

Miette's written words clued Ash in to how he wound up in the hospital. Despite not hearing anything and his own voice, he seemed to ask something. Serena nodded and lisped something before walking out of the room. This left Ash with his best friend and her rival. Think about that for a minute. In the waiting room, Serena reunited with Clemont and Bonnie who were still worried about their friend from Kanto.

"Is he awake?" the youngest wondered. Serena's nod confirmed relief if only to know he's alive.

"...But he can't hear anything," she groaned. "That concussion and being comatose for three days has done a number on him." Knowing his condition startled the siblings horribly.

"So no matter what Dedenne and I have to say, he won't hear me?" Bonnie shrieked. Serena's head shook. Even Dedenne got upset over the news. "How is he suppose to know we helped save the Pokémon from Team Rocket?" Only a chuckle from Clemont provided an answer.

"I believe I can come up with a solution to this problem," he smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "The future is now, thanks to science! Clemontic Gear on!" He presented two helmets with rods and wires all over and a tube connecting said helmets. "I call it the Mental-Wave-Connect-The-Two-Helmet-Communicator! I had a feeling we would need this for when we have difficult Pokémon to work with but I think this is a perfect opportunity to test it out. You see, this device penetrates the eyes, ears and mouth indirectly and connects to the brain stem of the ones wearing it. That way, any disability of mute, blindness and deafness is easily overcome by the two as they wear it!" Wow, what a mouthful.

"I wanna ask how you come up with these names," Serena moaned. All Bonnie wanted to do was see Ash.

"Listen, Ash still needs our support," she reminded. "I'd say we go check on him, now." Serena looked back at the door, thinking that Miette would exit from the room soon and allow him to rest.

"He still looked out of it. Once Miette leaves, we'll head back to the Pokémon Center." Inside, Miette fed Pikachu with a PokéPuff and reached in again with one more. Was she trying to fatten Ash's Pokémon? Whether forgetting he couldn't hear or perhaps staying focused on Pikachu, Miette said something before offering a PokéPuff to Ash. This time, Ash knew that Miette wanted Ash to feel better and there were slices of an Oran Berry on the pink frosting. Food and Ash felt a rumble in his stomach. Taking a bite, he tasted the juicy berry and smiled. Whether realizing his deafness or just a test to see of he understood the offer, Miette wrote on the whiteboard before giving it to Ash.

"I BET YOU'RE STARVING AFTER BEING OUT FOR A FEW DAYS. WAS IT GOOD?"

Ash didn't know that he was in a coma. He did nod to the question. That's when he asked one of his own, Miette saying something before exiting to see his friends. She got to the rest who were ready to leave. "We're going back to the Pokémon Center?" she asked.

"Yeah, well..." Clemont hesitated. "We'd rather let Ash sleep and recover. There's no way we'll leave him alone."

"That's right!" Bonnie backed up. "Ash has been there for us! We need to be here for him!" Miette figured they couldn't just walk back home without a reason and had something else in mind.

"Funny enough, he wanted to see you before visiting hours ended," she opened up. Bonnie and Dedenne's faces brightened at Ash's wish to see everyone.

"At last, I can put my invention to good use!" Clemont trembled in glee. Miette disagreed, shaking her head.

"We must not put anything but the bandages on his head. His brain is super sensitive and any loud noises would hurt him." Clemont fidgeted at being disallowed to use his helmet. "Let's just go in and see how he's doing." They reentered the room where Ash cuddled with a sleeping Pikachu. Bonnie shouted which woke the Electric Mouse Pokémon. More shouting from the youngest but nothing pierced the injured eardrums. Regardless, Bonnie hopped in bed and rubbed Ash's wrapped head. He winced a bit. Miette was right when she mentioned his head was sensitive. Clemont warned his sister about the condition Ash was under. The injured trainer spoke up to what he had to say despite not hearing his own words. This had Serena's hand working on the whiteboard.

"ONLY YOU COULD SAY THAT NO MATTER WHAT."

All Ash could do was shrug his shoulders. Out came more words that he'd wish he could hear. Seeing the rest have a laugh told him everyone was in good spirits. Ash spoke up with inquiry in mind. Whatever he brought up, Bonnie excitedly cheered and Pikachu leaped to Serena's shoulder. As they left his room and with Serena's back turned, Miette sneaked in a kiss on Ash's cheek. This made Ash blush a little, realizing that she also worried about his health. The clock struck 9:00 and visiting hours ended. His friends were on their way back to the Pokémon Center. Ash could only wonder about how long he'd be in the hospital with the concussion. 'How long will I be without hearing?' he wondered. 'It sucks that Team Rocket gave me this injury. Though now that I think about it, my mind has started clearing up ever since I woke up. I wonder if I'm getting better.' As he pondered about his condition, Miette stood steps from the entrance. She wasn't sure about leaving the hospital with Ash in the condition and knowing Team Rocket being around...

"Miette, come on!" Bonnie urged with Dedenne backing her up. Miette couldn't help herself and perhaps her kiss made her contemplate staying.

"You guys go ahead," she insisted. "Seeing Ash defenseless like he is..." Serena gasped at what leaked from Miette's enticing lips.

"You're not serious about staying after hours, are you?" she questioned.

"Don't you care for Ash as well?" Serena's mind raced. If Miette stayed to protect Ash, she could take advantage of his disability to make him fall for the boy who helped her back at the Kanto Summer Camp. "Team Rocket could break in and try to kill Ash so that they could go after Pikachu. I don't wanna give them a chance." To Miette, it wasn't about her wanting Ash but wanting to protect him and Pikachu.

"I doubt Team Rocket would go _that_ far," Clemont theorized. "Sure, they'll do anything to capture Pokémon but hurting others to do so?" They did leave Ash to die after taking the Pokémon.

"How else did Ash wind up here?" Serena shouted. "A bad stomach-ache?" Hearing the blond, Miette tapped her free shoulder. Turning, Serena saw Miette shaking her head.

"_We_ would be in trouble if that's the case," she reminded. "But leave Ash in our hands. You and little Bonbon can head back to the Pokémon Center." Clemont looked down, seeing a droopy Bonnie. She's exhausted. It started to get late and getting Bonnie in bed was Clemont's priority.

"I suppose so. Come on, Bonnie!" The little sister stumbled with Clemont out of the hospital and allowed the others to return back to Ash's room which is a good thing since he's fast asleep.

"I didn't really notice out cute Ash is when he sleeps," Miette giggled. "Did you?" Serena's cheeks burned red in embarrassment. Snapping out from the thought, she took a step back and wildly wove her hands out to deny any wrongful thoughts Miette may have offered to her.

"N-No!" she strongly denied. Of all the times she's yelled, it's a good thing Ash was temporary deaf now. Pikachu hopped back on the bed near Ash to stay away from any violence from the girls. "I haven't slept under the same ceiling with him, let alone the same blanket!" Miette felt she had the advantage by the two kisses to him. After all, Serena did admit not being that close to Ash ever since the camp. How could she not, there were plenty of opportunities to interact with Ash beforehand.

"You mean to tell moi that you've been with him since the Santalune Gym and never tried to close in? What exactly are you waiting for, an invitation? The more you stall, the more someone like me will take care of him like little Bonbon wants for Clemont." A lot of pressure mounted on Serena about coming clean. She fidgeted for an answer. Pikachu couldn't believe the argument between the two about the subject in the same room.

"Look, I don't want to rush my feelings for Ash and if it means biding my time, I'm waiting for the right time to tell Ash." Miette scoffed, Serena's explanation not the least satisfying.

"Then it's a lost cause. I'm sure I'll be a better girlfriend for him than you would." Serena's face boiled at the retort. "Besides, why did you become a trainer in the first place? To follow your favorite boy? Surely, you need a bigger calling than just to follow Ash around." Pikachu heard both sides and retreated to where it accidentally nudged Ash's arm. Feeling the arm, Ash woke up and looked to see Pikachu still around him. Realizing this made him rise out and glaring at the girls before looking at the clock being 9:15.

"What are you two still doing here?" he groaned. "Isn't visiting hours done for today?" The girls shot a surprised look back at Ash rising to a seat. They thought Ash awoke to their yelling, believing that his hearing had returned.

"A-Ash?" they gulped. Ash's eyes focused, his sight much sharper and clearer than when he first woke up.

"I see that you two are having a discussion about something." Now Miette and Serena were convinced that Ash could hear again.

"How long were you listening to us?" Serena asked. Ash turned to Pikachu and petted his partner.

"I think you're the one who wanted to stay, huh?" Pikachu huffed a chuckle to the question. Now the two others believed Pikachu inadvertently woke him, meaning that his hearing didn't return after all.

"Sorry about that," Miette apologized as she neared the bed. "But knowing Team Rocket, we couldn't risk leaving you alone." Ash felt relieved that someone chose to stay as protection.

"Thanks, you two. And no, I still can't hear but I can see better." This gave Serena a theory about how they were communicating.

"So you can read our lips?" she guessed. Ash nodded, making the girls feel better about his condition.

"I guess we don't need the whiteboard for long," Miette giggled. "But maybe the nurse can give you a hearing aid... at least until you can hear naturally." Ash wouldn't mind having something to hear his friends and his Pokémon.

"A hearing aid would be great to have," he accepted. "After all, how else can I have talks to you?" Serena's scoff hinted a way.

"Like we figured out, you reading our lips." Finally, Serena's head leaned in and gave Ash a kiss on the forehead. He's glad to have company like Miette, Serena and Pikachu. He could rest easily and maybe hear everything they had to say.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Hear Improvement

_Chapter 5: Hear Improvement_

* * *

The new morning arose around the hospital. A doctor inserted hearing-aid devices in Ash's ears to help him listen to his friends as Bonnie, Clemont, Miette, Serena and Pikachu watched on. "There we go!" the doctor finished. "Give it a minute or two to let the hearing-aid work." Reading her lips, Ash understood that his hearing was coming back slowly but surely.

"Thank you, doctor," he praised. The hearing-aid looped around the lobes and in the ears.

"Now that could be a fashion statement with some extra design," Miette pondered. Bonnie and Serena shook their heads, disagreeing with the PokéPuff rival.

"Miette, this is about Ash's health, not fashion sense," Serena tried to bring the blue-haired back to reality. "Just be glad he gets released in a few minutes." After fitting the hearing-aid devices, the doctor stood in front of Ash to see if the tools work.

"Okay, now can you hear me?" he asked. Ash couldn't hear the doctor but reading her lips...

"Nothing," he replied. She cupped her chin, troubled at the lack of response.

"Like I said, give it a little time. It should adjust and find the frequency to help you listen." During her explanation, Ash was able to hear the doctor.

"Okay, I picked that up." Finally, the doctor clapped her hands in success. Pikachu squeaked in joy but it ended up making Ash cringe in pain. "AH! That hurt!" To Clemont, his concussion hadn't fully healed.

"He's still suffering so we shouldn't really make any loud noises," he warned. Pikachu sighed and apologized for that joyous outburst. He didn't know that while Ash was able to hear again, his concussion still lingered. The headache lasted a few seconds but Ash petted his Electric Mouse Pokémon in forgiveness.

"It's never easy to know how long the symptoms will last," the doctor advised. "All I can say is that you take it easy and when your hearing is back to normal, please return it." Ash bobbed a nod to accept the promise. "On that note, take care."

"I will," Ash complied. Everything packed up and reunited with his Pokémon, Ash and his friends left the hospital. Along the walk from the city, Ash wanted to ask about the contest. "I almost forgot... what happened to the PokéPuff Contest?" No one could blame Ash for not knowing since having his hearing temporarily knocked out and his mind shaken up.

"The contest got canceled after Team Rocket made a mess of everything," Miette informed. Ash got upset with the news. These two wanted to settle the score after losing to a pair of kids with their Sticky Rice PokéPuffs.

"That's too bad. I would've wanted to actually taste your PokéPuffs with Pikachu and Dedenne." Miette shook her head in dismay.

"My PokéPuffs aren't meant to be eaten by humans. Maybe Serena's..." To Serena, Ash was hungry after being in the hospital for the past few days.

"I can't blame him," she giggled. "Being asleep for the past few days, forced to eat that hospital food... He's probably so hungry, he could challenge a Munchlax to an eating contest." The siblings and even Pikachu laughed at Serena's point which Ash attested to her words.

"I could see it happening," he joked.

"It's clear that after the blow to his head, he still has his sense of humor," Clemont studied. Serena agreed. After everything recently, Ash was still Ash.

"So, where are you guys going?" Miette asked.

"Off for some training before heading to Shalour City to battle Korrina," Ash remembered. "I can't wait to battle her Mega Lucario again." Clemont stepped up to get Ash under some control.

"Let's wait until your head is full and focused," he reminded. "Pokémon battles do get pretty extreme and you're still recovering. Take some more time off before you get challenged to another battle." Ash could argue but seeing Pikachu and recalling his shout told him better.

"I guess I can... But it's not like Team Rocket will wait for me to be at full health. Before long, they'll be at Pikachu again." Pikachu couldn't help but get concerned about his friend and himself.

"Those bad guys still need to go through us!" Bonnie proclaimed. "They fight you, we're all in it, together!" Dedenne chattered among Bonnie's bravery.

"You're not the only one with Pokémon that can battle!" Serena noted while holding Fennekin's ball. Same with Miette holding Slurpuff's and Clemont raising Bunnelby's and Chespin's.

"This is scientific proof that friends help each other out," Clemont huffed, making Serena groan.

"What's so scientific about that?!" she questioned. Clemont flinched, unable to find an answer.

"Habit... I... Guess?" Ash, Miette and Bonnie chuckled at Clemont's stumble. Suddenly, Ash sensed something and turned to a fixed direction. All stopped and turned to Ash.

("Something wrong?") Pikachu wondered.

"Stay quiet," Ash whispered. "I'm picking up noises." Everyone wondered how Ash could hear something after being deaf for the past few days. Perhaps it's the device in his ears...

"I'm surprised we waited for when the twerp got out of the hospital," spoke James. "We could have gotten Pikachu while he rested."

"Why do you gotta torture da twerp after you put him in da hospital?" Meowth wondered.

"It's not my fault he wound up in ICU," growled Jessie. "If that twerp had stayed off the stage, we'd already have Pikachu and the other Pokémon! Now just help me with this trap! They'll fall for this by the time we're done!" It's another pit trap being setup by Team Rocket and finally, Ash lowered his arm.

"Ash, what's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"It's Team Rocket," he responded. "They're close by and setting up a pit for us to fall in." Astonished, everyone pondered how Ash could hear them when he couldn't hear anything sitting on his lap not too long ago.

"Those must be some super sensitive hearing-aid devices," Clemont believed. It could explain how Ash could listen to Team Rocket despite being who knows how far they were between each.

"At least Team Rocket isn't using something completely complicated to get Pikachu," Serena scoffed. This prompted Ash to pull a Pokéball out.

"When we find it, we'll have a countermeasure in place," he theorized. "Fletchinder, I choose you!" The ball opened and released his Fletchinder. "Team Rocket is up ahead. Go scout the situation and come back when you found them. Just make sure you stay out of sight." Fletchinder cawed in agreement. It flew off toward the direction Ash pointed to. Before long, Fletchinder found Team Rocket digging a hole of all things. How many pits have they dug up ever since Ash started his career? Anyway, Fletchinder dove in a tree and perched itself on a branch.

"Deep enough?" James questioned. Jessie looked down on the progress.

"Deeper!" she scolded. "I want it deep that it will take days for them to get out!" Since they were busy digging a grave for themselves, Fletchinder flew back to report its findings. Reaching the rest, Fletchinder cawed the place Team Rocket stood.

"Thanks, Fletchinder!" Ash complimented. They knew where Team Rocket was and now had to plan a way to take them out.

"Now that we know about Team Rocket's place for their trap," Clemont plotted. "Let's think of a way to stop them." What could they use? That's when Bonnie had an idea.

"Why not have Miette and Serena battle!" she suggested. "That way, it'll keep those bullies watching while we launch a sneak attack!" Little girl's got a big mess to make. Serena and Miette adored the plan.

"Yeah, this will work!" Serena cheered in glee. "Team Rocket won't know what hit them!" Miette agreed but with a different reason.

"Since both of us have someone in mind," she pointed out. "It'll be like they'll see which girl is best fit while the rest will get a taste of their own medicine." A nod to everyone set the plan in motion. Meanwhile, James and Meowth exited the hole he dug as Jessie examined the job.

"I guess that's deep enough," she surveyed. Once out, both boys sat on the grass in exhaustion.

"Just enough, Jessie?" James whined.

"It sounds like you wanted to go deeper!" Meowth thought. Jessie didn't want the back talk.

"Quit your whining and get this covered up!" she ordered. Given no choice in the way, James provided a wooden grid while Meowth scattered leaves to cover it up. Once done, Jessie escorted the men to the bushes after hearing a rustle. They watched from afar as Ash and Pikachu rolled up.

'This is where Fletchinder said Team Rocket dug their trap,' he minded. 'Good thing I let Bonnie borrow Froakie for the surprise.' In the middle, Ash let the role play. "This looks like a good spot. Hawlucha, Fletchinder, come on out!" The balls opened where Fletchinder and his Wrestler Pokémon.

("How do you feel, Luchador?") Hawlucha wondered. Ash patted his head softly, telling Hawlucha not to worry.

"It's gonna take more than a concussion to stop me from fulfilling my dreams. Now, let's work on some moves. I wanna see you use that move when you battle that Ursaring back when we first met." Hawlucha blinked at the wish from Ash. "Fletchinder, let's work on making Flame Charge fly better." To begin the training session, Hawlucha stayed grounded while Fletchinder soared. Suddenly, Miette entered the scene.

"Ash?" she called out. Ash turned to Miette who stopped for a second before racing and gently hugging him.

"Hey Miette." The Pokémon flew down to meet the blue-haired chef as she broke her hug.

"Serena told me that you're out of the hospital. Are you alright? It's just... Brain injuries are hard to recover from." Ash scoffed her "concern."

"I consider Pokémon Training my way of recuperation. If I feel better, my Pokémon feel better." Miette wasn't comfortable with his recovering regimen.

"I know that's been your way of life but what about the long-term?" Team Rocket watched the "drama" play out. "Look, Serena had looked out for you since arriving in the Kalos Region. Sure, Clemont and Bonnie as well but mainly Serena. Do you... I don't know, not like her?" Ash dumbly glared at her, thinking how overblown it was for her to get that mindset.

"We're friends. I never hated anyone that I've talked to, even you." Miette breathed "a sigh of relief" from the news.

"So if you and Serena are friends, I guess you're still on the market, huh?" The remark jerked Ash to glare at Miette.

"On the market?" Miette huffed a giggle as she lifted her head to his face.

"Let me put it this way. Bonnie is looking for someone to take care of Clemont and I think you deserve the same. If not Serena... perhaps I'd offer myself to take care of you." She started to lean in when...

"Oh, no you don't!" roared Serena. Ash, Miette, Team Rocket and the Pokémon turned to the blond from Vaniville Town. "You have no right to take Ash from me!" Team Rocket watched intently with the new face.

"Dis surely got spiced up," Meowth murmured quietly, not wanting to blow their cover. Not like it mattered as Clemont, Bonnie, Bunnelby and Froakie peeked out from behind them.

"Targets in position," Clemont identified. "Bunnelby, use Dig to get under Team Rocket but don't spring up. Froakie, when you hear the word, that's your time for Water Pulse." The Pokémon listened and Bunnelby used its ears to burrow underground. After its Dig, it crawled out and allowed Froakie to place himself.

"Those bullies don't suspect a thing," Bonnie quietly whispered. No, they were paying too much attention to the upcoming catfight.

"Apparently, you forgot about my warning back by Cyllage City," Miette nonchalantly scorned. "If you didn't tell him about your feelings, I'd be the first. Besides, why are you even traveling with him in the first place?" Serena hiccuped at the response of her cooking rival.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" she snapped back. "You weren't around when he dove off Prism Tower! What gives you the right to claim Ash as your own?!" Miette smiled back, getting under Serena's nerves. Ash, his hearing-aids removed, walked backwards which Pikachu hopped off and felt a soft patch of dirt. Looking down, Ash saw Pikachu's tail waiving.

'So that's where their trap's set,' he pictured. 'Good work, Pikachu. Now all that's left is the execution.' The anger on Serena's face forced her to pull out Fennekin's ball.

"If you want Ash for yourself, you'll need to beat me and my Fennekin!" she demanded.

"So it's a Pokémon battle, is it?" smirked Miette as she presented Slurpuff's ball. "I wouldn't want it any other way. Let's go, Slurpuff!" The ball opened and out came the Meringue Pokémon.

"Let's do this, Fennekin!" Serena's ball opened and her Fox Pokémon. Now it was a battle.

"Slurpuff, use Energy Ball!" Slurpuff fired green orbs at Fennekin who jumped left where Ash fluffed a nod. Fennekin winked to Ash, the plan in motion.

"Fennekin, use Hidden Power!" White orbs formed around Fennekin before shooting out. Slurpuff shuffled left to avoid the attack, its back facing Team Rocket and the siblings.

"That's your best? Slurpuff, use Psychic!" Slurpuff's body showed a blue veil before it started lifting Fennekin. That's when a rumble started below Team Rocket.

"Is dere an earthquake?" Meowth realized. Not quite. KABOOM! Froakie's Water Pulse blasted Team Rocket from their hiding spot and in the air. Now was the time for Serena to strike.

"Fennekin, use Flamethrower!" she ordered. Fennekin blew a stream of fire from her snout and scorched Team Rocket medium rare. Finally, Ash took care of the rest with his bird.

"Fletchinder, Flame Charge!" he instructed. Fletchinder came out of nowhere and slammed Team Rocket toward the hole they dug for their "twerps." On contact, the floor opened up and down gone Team Rocket. Ash applied the hearing-aids before the girls and Clemont regrouped. Team Rocket lied in the bottom of their own pit bewildered at how this happened.

"Dis doesn't make any sense!" Meowth whined.

"Shouldn't it be the twerps down here, not us?" Jessie figured.

"Excuse me but we're the ones who fell for their twerpish scheme!" James rhymed. Looking up, Ash revealed one hearing-aid, mocking the enemies.

"Science is so amazing when it's used properly," he grinned. The Rockets now had a clue on how Ash foiled their elaborate ploy as he reinserted the device.

"You bullies will pay for hurting Ash!" Bonnie bellowed.

"And ruining the PokéPuff Contest!" Miette scolded.

"_And_ taking all those Pokémon!" Serena stated the obvious. "I already have police on the way!" Jessie scoffed at Serena's bluff.

"'_I already have police on the way,_'" she groaned while repeating Serena's words. "How stupid do you think we are?! We've escaped everything the Five-O has thrown on us! This is no different!" Proving, she began climbing the same pit she told James and Meowth to make sure was deep. Not only was it deep, the walls were smooth. Jessie couldn't get a grip on the side.

"Except _you_ told _us_ to dig this up!" James reminded Jessie. How ironic is it to be ensnared in your own trap? Oops...

"You might want to remove the hearing-aids and run for cover," Clemont warned. Backing off, he lobbed the invention he wanted to use on Ash and his aim was true as it planted on the heads of Jessie and James, the LED lights blinking at random intervals.

"Get dat ding off your heads, it's gonna blow!" Meowth warned. They tried but the device got stuck.

"We can't!" they cried. It got worse. Smoke billowed from the machine and knowing how Clemont's inventions sometimes go... KABOOM! The concussive blast didn't bring Team Rocket out of the hole. It did knock them out. The smoke helped bring the police down to the scene as if the GPS in Serena's device wasn't enough. Officer Jenny and a few officers reached the scene and arrived at the hole. Instead of looking at the kids for details, she glanced down the hole and discovered Team Rocket a little well done.

"Team Rocket, you're under arrest!" she yelled down. "Once we excavate you from your grave, it's off to jail!" Team Rocket groaned at seeing the police. Miette offered her aid.

"If I may, Officer Jenny," she spoke. "Slurpuff can use its Psychic attack to pull each one up." Jenny nodded to the request and Slurpuff used Psychic to lift each Rocket member from the hole. With each member, three or four officers restrained and handcuffed them. A little overdoing with Meowth but they didn't want to take chances.

"You blue-haired coppers know no prison can hold me!" Jessie protested. Jenny couldn't wait to hear this reason.

"What makes you so sure?" A snicker from Jessie seemed perfect.

"I'm too beautiful for prison." Rather than anger her, Jenny smirked.

"Then you should have no problem with the men we have there. They know how to treat beautiful women who nearly kill children." Jessie froze at the retort. "And that goes the same with your men." James and Meowth freaked out at what awaited them. Each one got stuffed in a cruiser. As they waived goodbye to Team Rocket, Ash knelt and petted those who helped out, including Bunnelby and Froakie.

"That went perfectly," he praised. "I bet they didn't know what hit them." Fennekin tackled Ash and started licking him in the face. Ash enjoyed the tongue bath. All that awaited Ash was his recovery and his journey ahead. What about the decision between Serena and Miette, should he want to choose?

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	6. Puffing Kiss

_Chapter 6/Final: Puffing Kiss_

* * *

Ash and his friends reached the next Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy told the recovering trainer that he got a phone call from the doctor. Getting to the video phone, the doctor who treated him had some disturbing news. "Ash, I see you made it to the next town!" she noticed.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Ash wondered.

"Yeah, how can I put this? The hearing-aids you have were the wrong prescription." This caused Ash to blink in confusion. The hearing-aids he got were not the ones to fit? "The hearing-aid devices were an experimental creation that my colleagues wanted to try for field work with underwater Pokémon from above the water's surface. It just so happened that the hearing-aids I ordered after I diagnosed your hearing loss got mixed up with the device you have." Ash sighed at how the aids got switch. Then again, getting the wrong device was more of a blessing in disguise.

"If it helps, these 'experimental' aids did help stop Team Rocket." A big smile brimmed from the doctor. While not really meant for Ash, he did prove the device's capable range.

"So that's what the fuss was about from some of my co-workers. Now those villains won't bother you again, I hope." To Ash, it's too soon to celebrate no more Team Rocket.

"I wouldn't sleep too comfortably. Knowing them, Team Rocket will find themselves out of any security prison before we can blink." The doctor could hope that it's not the case.

"Anyway, I'll stop by the Pokémon Center tomorrow with the proper hearing-aids as well as an exam to see how your head's holding up."

"Sounds like a plan. Who knows? I may not really need it." The doctor had a laugh from Ash's overwhelming confidence.

"Still as enthusiastic... Okay, I'll be there in the morning." Both hung the phones to end the conversation. Ash sighed at how humiliated the doctor had to be for giving him untested hearing-aid devices and not prescribed ones. At least he'll get the right ones until his hearing does return. Serena, Miette and Pikachu came by to get the update.

"What did the doctor say?" Serena asked. Turning, Ash pulled out the aid from one ear.

"Turns out these hearing-aids were not the ones prescribed to me," he pointed out. "These were actually meant for research with Water-Type Pokémon below the ocean or lake surfaces. It got mixed up with the proper hearing-aids designed for me." As disappointing as getting the wrong hearing-aids sounded (no pun intended), Miette smiled to the switch in a good side.

"Well, if you had the right pair to being with, I'd say we all would've fallen for the hole and you'd be in dire straits," she thought up. Ash and Serena blinked a couple of times in some confusion.

"What do you mean?" Serena questioned.

"With Ash recovering from his concussion, another blow to the head could cause permanent brain injury or even death." That frightened the Pallet Town and Vaniville Town trainers and Pikachu so bad, shivers shook their bodies. To have Ash die by Team Rocket wasn't something the intended victim or his friends wanted to experience.

"I wish you didn't scare us like that," he shuttered. Pikachu agreed like the Pokémon partner he was.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Still holding the device, Ash contemplated how long he would be with devices like the hearing-aids. After some more time sitting, it was best for the four to retire for the night. Late the next morning, Ash's friends waited patiently for Ash as he got a visit from the doctor. The door to the center opened and Ash came out with the most confident strut that Pikachu had ever seen.

"Well?" Clemont asked. Ash showed the hearing-aids in his hand. What he did next told his friends the current condition: he flipped the hearing-aids to the doctor. To his friends, Ash's hearing returned.

"That's amazing, Ash!" Serena cheered. "You can hear again!" Ash's recovery astounded the doctor.

"Ash still has some lingering effects from the concussion but his healing is remarkable," she informed. "He still needs to take it easy for a few more days but I know he'll chase Gym Badges like no trainer's business." With his recovery and no more Team Rocket for the moment, all Ash needed to worry about was his Gym Battle with Korrina in Shalour City. The kids and Pokémon proceeded down the new route.

"So, Ash," Bonnie spoke up. "What was it like being without hearing for the while?" Ash pondered the experience being without ears for the couple of days.

"Quiet..." he replied. Of course it was quiet, that's what being deaf was about!

"That's actually the basis of being without ears, or is that how you felt while in the hospital?" Clemont joked.

"I guess a little of both. Sure, I couldn't hear a peep from anyone and it would've sucked if Team Rocket came by to steal Pikachu while I was recovering, but I had that moment to think clearly and to relax myself." The insight gave the girls a picture in their heads. They saw Ash relaxing on a meadow with hardly a breeze.

"Not a care in the world," Miette concluded. "And with Team Rocket out-of-the-way, that's how we should all be feeling." Considering the conversation with the doctor, having Team Rocket in jail wouldn't last long.

"I wouldn't put it past them just yet. They'll find a way out of jail and come after us again." That's when Serena flashed a smile.

"Then you should take a look at this," she spoke up as she gave Ash the paper with Team Rocket with separate mug shots for each, all wearing black and white stripes. The headline above the pictures pretty much explained Team Rocket's fate.

"TEAM ROCKET FACE LIFE."

Ash gawked at the headline. He read the article. "Three members of Team Rocket, the criminal organization known from the Kanto Region, are facing consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in an undisclosed place in Kalos for a list of crimes as long as five average-length Onix strung together from head to tail," he reported. "Crimes include multiple charges of Child Endangerment, Robbery, Assault and Battery on minors, Stalking on minors and Pokémon, Pokénapping, Kidnapping, False Imprisonment and Attempted Murder among other charges. On top of that, the two members known only as Jessie and James had their Pokémon Trainer licenses permanently revoked and their Pokémon of Pumpkaboo, Inkay, Meowth and Wobbufett confiscated. They were freed and returned to the wild. While proclaiming themselves as Team Rocket, an anonymous source told reporters that the three had no connection to the organization." This was devastating. Jessie, James and Meowth would no longer go after Pikachu... or any other Pokémon for that matter. To Pikachu, the nightmare that began in Viridian City back near home has finally come to an end.

("No more of those Electric-Proof traps...") he squeaked. While one organization suffered a huge blow with a few members no longer among them, Serena knew more were out there.

"Just because they're no longer after us, other members of Team Rocket could replace those three," she warned. Ash would agree with some extra incentive.

"Not only that, there are other organizations that can give Team Rocket a run for their money," Ash added. Nothing comes easy for Ash and his friends.

"Who cares!" Bonnie laughed as she leaped on Ash's back. Ash caught her and struggled to stay standing with their Pokémon on his shoulders and the little blond sister asking for a Swinub back ride. "We'll just take them out like we took Team Rocket out!" It's as if nothing could ever change with Ash and his party: protect the Pokémon and keep evil organizations from dominating the world.

"Take it easy, Bonnie!" Clemont warned. "He's still recovering!" Bonnie gasped at her own action. She forgot what the doctor told everyone. Ash knelt and let Bonnie off. She came around Ash to apologize.

"I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment." Ash petted Bonnie to say that he understood her feelings.

"It's okay," he smiled. "We're all a little happy that Team Rocket's no longer on our tails." With all that said, the focus was now on Miette.

"So what's your next plan, Miette?" Serena questioned. Miette pondered what her next move was.

"Well, I don't have any immediate plans," she shrugged. "I'll hang around with you tonight, cook dinner and the next morning, I'll head home and see what I could do next. From all I know, I'll find out about the next PokéChef contest." Plans were set and soon, everyone arrived at the next town just one route from Shalour City.

"I was meaning to ask," Ash opened up. "What was that invention you threw on Team Rocket?" Clemont gawked at Ash's interest.

"That?" he hiccuped. "I could make an updated version of that invention for you to try, but not until you're 100-percent recovered." Everyone remained alert of Ash's injury. Even Ash had to be aware of his own head.

"I see. I wasn't hoping to try it out immediately." They all entered the Pokémon Center just as the sun set. The Pokémon had PokéPuffs from the girls and dinner with some help from Ash. They ate and soon enough, Ash found himself on the battlefield behind the Center. He's focused on his Gym Battle with Korrina. Ash released all of his Pokémon and had Fletchinder and Froakie on one side while Pikachu and Hawlucha faced off from the opposite end. "Okay, Froakie... I want you to use Double Team and combine it with Cut. That way, it should simulate Mega Lucario's Bone Rush. Fletchinder, you too with your Double Team and Flame Charge." Froakie and Fletchinder understood the commands. "Pikachu, Hawlucha, you'll need to dodge their attacks. They'll come from everywhere so stay focused." Pikachu and Hawlucha readied themselves for the barrage. Fletchinder flew a loop before copies of the Fire Bird Pokémon popped up. Froakie also charged with copies of his own. Seeing each Froakie and Fletchinder, Pikachu and Hawlucha watched for where the attacks would come from. A flaming Fletchinder swooped in from Hawlucha's left. "Hawlucha, from your left!" Hawlucha dove clear of the copy's move. A Froakie sneaked behind Pikachu, the kunai-like knife in his frog hand. "Pikachu, tail end!" Pikachu turned to see the Froakie's attack and leaped as he swiped. A near miss. Miette and her Slurpuff came out to see Ash and his Pokémon training for the Gym Battle. Each Flame Charge attacking Fletchinder, while dodged every time, kept getting closer and closer to Hawlucha while the Cut attacks started getting blocked by Pikachu's Iron Tail or missing by inches. After a minute, the Double Team faded to just one of each Pokémon. Froakie, Fletchinder, Hawlucha and Pikachu were wiped. "I think we're ready for Mega Lucario at the Shalour Gym. That was an awesome practice session." The Pokémon sounded pleased. Miette and Slurpuff approached the group but the chef focused on Ash.

"Didn't the doctor tell you to take it easy until you're fully recovered?" she advised. To Ash, this was him being... well, him.

"Consider this my way of recuperation. If I can train my Pokémon, I'm healing more by the moment." Miette chuckled at Ash's stoicism. "Besides, if there's a headache I'm actually glad is gone, it's Team Rocket. Perhaps the other regions like Sinnoh and Johto can breathe easy knowing that the pests their 'boss' sicked on me for Pikachu can't terrorize anyone else." It was a figurative headache but Pikachu squeaked in agreement.

"Pikachu and every Pokémon, for sure." Ash's other Pokémon and Miette's Slurpuff chimed at the relief. That's when Miette wanted to come clean about her feelings. "Do you remember the day before the PokéPuff contest? When we talked about you and Serena?" Ash blinked, seemingly forgetting the conversation.

"Not really." Disappointed, Miette let out a sigh. Of course, that concussion might have had something to do with why Ash didn't remember.

"I brought up that Serena needed to step up and tell her feelings about taking care of you, sort of like how Bonnie wants someone to take care of her big brother. I warned Serena that if she doesn't, I might take you for myself. In all honesty, I want you to help Serena as much as possible." Hearing her admit, Ash stepped forward and did something that seemed out of character: he hugged Miette. The blue-haired chef blushed quickly at the snap hug. "Um, Ash?" Breaking from the hug, Ash let out a breath of frustration.

"Thank you... for all you've done to take care of me while I was hurt." A soft chuckle coughed from Serena's rival.

"Yeah... of course!"

"And I'll watch over Serena. I know I still have a long way to go but I'll help her with whatever she needs." Miette nodded, satisfied with how Ash will deal with his future in Kalos.

"You're too much, you know that?" Now Miette embraced Ash in a hug but decided to add one more ingredient: a kiss on the lips. Ash stood a bit shocked while the Pokémon watched on. Finally, he closed his eyes and accepted the love from her. The next morning, the group exited the Center and appeared going on their separate ways.

"So, you're heading back home?" Clemont recalled.

"That's right. I've got some training to do, as well as Slurpuff. And Serena, if I get word on another PokéPuff contest, you'll be the first to know. We _still _have a score to settle." Serena's head bobbed to the challenge.

"You know I won't back down," she snapped back. Now Miette turned to Ash, his battle with Korrina at hand.

"And Ash, I wish you well on your upcoming Gym Battles." Now Ash lofted a nod of his own.

"You got it, Miette," he huffed. "And I'll make sure to help Serena when she needs it." Serena's face blossomed red from Ash's retort. Despite the feelings towards each other, they still had appointments to meet. Bonnie and Dedenne raced ahead toward the route that lead to Shalour City.

"Let's go, everyone!" she ordered. "I wanna see Ash get his third Gym Badge!" All heard the small blond girl and the Antennae Pokémon and waived fond farewells. The journey continues for Ash and his posse... but the relationship of three people may stick with them for a long time.

* * *

THE END


End file.
